DHL Global Forwarding, an international provider of air, sea and road freight services, has launched its digital road freight platform Saloodo, to shippers and transport providers in Uganda, connecting the country into its growing digital network on the continent. With a total road network of over 129,000 kilometres, almost 95% of cargo freight in Uganda relies almost entirely on road transportation.
Tobias Maier, CEO of Saloodo! Middle East and Africa, talks to CEO East Africa Magazine about the Saloodo! platform and how it will bridge the gap between supply and demand during these COVID-19 times
What kind of challenges has logistics industry faced in recent times?
We have faced very rapid and dynamic changes happening day by day which had severe impacts on well-established supply chains and cargo flows. Examples are for example the almost complete grounding of the passenger fleet by airlines which has resulted in massive reduction of available capacity for air movements of cargo (normally ca 2/3 of all air freight cargo is loaded on passenger flights). For the trucking industry, esp. the regulation changes at border points resulted in a lot of uncertainty and massive delays – given the rules changed daily it was often unclear whether a truck we send would arrive at its destination.
Why is Saloodo! so important at this very moment – living through a pandemic?
The big advantage of Saloodo! is that we are connecting shippers with carriers on one common platform – so we have multiple touch points with all players involved in the supply chains which allows us to receive information about changes as soon as they happen and immediately work on finding solutions, again in close collaboration and leveraging the expertise of our partners on the platform. We also actively shared key events, new regulations with our users to keep them informed about any developments affecting their supply chain.
What preventative measures has the Saloodo! introduced to stay ahead of the curve?
Breaking Barriers: Charles Mudiwa on Intergenerational Leadership at Makerere We have been very lucky to be part of the logistics company of the world, DHL. From very early stages, our group was making experience with the virus and swiftly established a task force which as led by our Group CEO, Frank Appel. We switched into a working from home setup, shared best practices collected with our employees, partners and their drivers allowing them to take protective measures. We established regular updates via our homepage and other communication channels and in line with our Business Continuity Planning, we were one of the first companies to secure PPE already in early February to ensure we had masks and sanitizers at stock.
What positive impact has Saloodo! had in other countries during this time? Provide a case study
We had initially planned to launch the platform early March in Mozambique but cancelled the travel & the event at end of February. We then decided to use the time wisely by preparing a lot of markets which were scheduled to go live later in the year and accelerate the go live in these markets to allow the relevant stakeholders to enjoy the benefits of our platform and easily have access to available cargo loads and reliable transport companies.
What does the new normal for Saloodo! look like going forward?
There has been a lot of talk about the new normal, yet I haven’t seen a clear & comprehensive vision. Speaking for myself, I am looking forward to a new normal in which we have more flexible working settings allowing our employees and those of our partners to get the work done wherever, whenever it is required and or possible. A world where we make better use of the available assets in logistics to reduce carbon emissions and shape a sustainable future. A world, in which we all respect each other and celebrate the diversity of our planet, our continents, our culture… our entire human heritage.
